Splitting The WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Another Evolution Member, Shane McMahon His Own Man, Where’s Hogan?

Do you think it would be a good opportunity to split the titles up again if Daniel Bryan is expected to be out of action for an extended period of time?

I wasn’t for the unification of the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship in the first place so I would favor most scenarios that saw the titles split. Two world titles forces WWE to have an expanded main event scene and most will agree it’s shrunk since December’s title unification. As for the future of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the reality is the company doesn’t know what they’re going to do but they’re going storyline heavy with whatever it will be. For those tired of Triple H “burying” Bryan as a B+ player, there’s no end in sight for that and I would expect heavy such references in next Monday’s announcement. The problem I already have with how WWE is treating this is Daniel Bryan finally “overcame the odds” against The Authority [at Wrestlemania 30] and now it’s like we’re back to last summer all over again. No matter how much Bryan improves his stock in the eyes of WWE officials, they’re determined to push him as the proverbial underdog. I don’t like it and would rather see the company pivot and treat Bryan more like a protected top guy.

With Batista potentially taking time off for movie related media, do you see this as an opportunity for WWE to bring in Curtis Axel, Ryback or another superstar to align themselves as members of Evolution and possibly head in the direction of stardom under the tutelage of Triple H & Randy Orton?

Batista will be taking time off this summer for media related to Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” film, in which he plays the part of Drax the Destroyer. Whether or not WWE adds another member to Evolution will depend on how long they plan to keep the reunited faction around. Is Evolution there to help prevent the post-Wrestlemania letdown or are there long-term plans leading into SummerSlam? This question will have to be answered before we can talk new members. If the latter proves true, I would prefer someone other than Ryback or Curtis Axel get the opportunity. Both have already been given main event opportunities and have squandered them.

What’s Shane McMahon been up to? Any chance he’ll be back to WWE in the future?

Shane McMahon left WWE in 2009 to “do it on his own” and has been very successful as the Chairman of YOU on Demand, which is often referred to as the “Netflix of China.” BuzzFeed Sports ran a sensational piece on him last month that will answer most of your questions at this link. The only thing I will add is there is always a chance that Shane McMahon could return to WWE. No matter what people like Shane or Linda [McMahon] do, they will always been associated with WWE because of who they are and the prominent positions they used to fill. Shane leaving WWE was not something that was easy for Vince and according to observers, it was difficult on their relationship. I believe Shane realized the company would go to Stephanie and Triple H and wanted to see what he could do outside of his father’s shadow.

Where is Hulk Hogan?

Hulk Hogan is still running wild and remains under WWE contract. The company plans to utilize him on their July tour of Japan. Hogan is an asset for WWE but given the fact he can no longer wrestle, his exposure must be limited. If it’s not, his appearances go from a “big deal” to “ordinary.” Once this happens, he loses all value. TNA overexposed Hogan to the point where he couldn’t help them at all. Vince McMahon and WWE have done a great job in utilizing Hogan without overexposing him since he returned to the company earlier this year.

From the Ask WNW vault…

December 2012: Why is Daniel Bryan constantly the one being pinned and shown as the weak link of Team Hell No? - The justification seems to be Daniel Bryan’s current gimmick is comedy and he won’t be hurt by any losses under it. I would rather see Kane doing these jobs as he’s someone up there in age that has already peaked. Daniel Bryan hasn’t come close to his ceiling and I would prefer he didn’t go under although that seems to be the reason why he has been booked as such. From what I’ve been told, Vince McMahon sees Daniel Bryan as diverse and is high up on him heading into the new year.

The next installment of Ask WNW is scheduled to run on Friday, May 16, 2014.

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How about we turn Cody heel (which seems to be teased right now) and have him side with Evolution? He’s push is WAY overdue and has worked extremely hard. He can wrestle, he can talk – dammit, STRAP CODY!

K!NG

I’ve been saying this for months but there are people who actually think Cody isnt ready. the kid has done everything asked of him and turned it into gold.

Brandon van Reenen

I think he’s more than ready. I was literally blown away with his Grotesque Cody Rhodes character. This is just another reason while the unification of the world championships sucks. Cody should have been champ by now.

Bob’s Diner

They squandered the whole storyline of the Cody getting his job back – remember how incredibly over he was when they did that angle? He was right up there. How they got from that to where he is now is just terrible

j vomkrieg

^this

The Rhodes brothers were amazingly hot at the end of last eyar, but they derailed them by throwing the Old Age Outlaws in their way. Since then, they have either forgotten them, or put them under everyone. Even Los Matadores got a wrestlemania match over the Rhodes Brothers.

I’d love to know why WWE derailed them like that

J Vomkrieg

That said, Cody in evolution would be odd, because is it then a new Evolution? Or just an expanded Legacy?

Personally, the guy the could end up in Evolution at the end of this all is Roman Reigns.

Bob’s Diner

I am with you 100%. When they did the firing angle, I saw how over Cody was and saw his former tag partner with the Money in the Bank briefcase and thought to myself ‘WWE are going to show TNA how you end a tag team and elevate 2 guys to real main event status’… I thought for sure a World title feud was on the cards for those guys and fans were keen for it… and then WWE went all TNA on them both. They actually mean even less now than they did when they were a tag team.

Robert Olley

What about cesaro joining evolution? With paul heyman as the groups managed it could be a excellent way to push him as a heel and into the main event scene

Jbreed

I doubt Triple H and Randy Orton would be ok with Cesaro or any other non-established wrestler coming in and becoming the main attraction of the group.

Brandon van Reenen

I think they can go ahead and strap Kane if they’re not comfortable with giving someone new a title reign. Kane – right now – also makes the most sense.

jdl

Split the titles up, then have Bryan come back and pull a Jericho by winning them both back on the same night. It would be a great way to get him even more over than he already is and get rid of the stupid “BY GAWD KANG, BRYAN DUN GONE AND DONE SOMETHING UNDERDOGGY!” attitude he has about him. Guy is not an underdog, he can out wrestle everyone else on the roster.

Jaryd

If there are longer term plans for evolution, I would love to see Dolph Ziggler put in there. How likely that is with how he’s viewed by Vince/Creative I don’t know, but he just seems like he’d be a perfect fit for the group. Also he never squandered his opportunity as it was taken from him by a concussion.

K!NG

I don’t care if people blast me for this or not… the only role Bryan can play is the underdog because like rey Mysterio no matter how good his mat skills are Some people just don’t buy a 195 pound guy as a unbeatable champion. let me make this clear as this is not how i feel about DB as i am a fan of his and a believer that size doesn’t matter after watching the original UFC where there were no weight classes. Royce Gracie took down guys 3 times the size of him. I watch raw with friends who watch wrestling but are not into to it like i am. All them they all say the same thing about DB that hes good but he doesn’t look believable. I feel that his character is limited while being a face at the top of the card.

Guest

I totally agree

PHATBOYLBC

good point and dnt mean to rain on your parade, But i have watched EVERY UFC and Royce never took guys down lol he would get took down and use his Ju jutsu and choke or submit guys

Big Boss Man’s Breakfast

I reckon Dolph Ziggler, or Cesaro should join Evolution as a 4th member. Both deserve a push. Or they could do something completely crazy or unexpected and turn Kofi Kingston. That would be a shocker that no-one will expect. But I reckon it will be someone lame and predictable like Sheamus.

opie

Has to be Reigns. Absolutely has to be.

Guest

Well you cant say Curtis Axel had an opportunity in the main event, just because he was with Heyman. He got a little push…thats it. He was NEVER a maineventer. I doubt he ever will be…but time will tell.

As far as Ryback, yeah we all know that they booked him crappy and wrong that it did him a lot of damage. Add to that and his alleged heat that he supposedly had backstage, and its going down, going all the way down for The Big Guy. But Im pretty sure that he will get his opportunity again in the near future. Hopefully WWE dont mess up his next reign as a maineventer again, like they did numerous times before.

Lebron James

I’m a big fan of The Big Guy. He’s been nothing short of great on the mic lately, specially on commentary, and he’s showed a lot more personality. If he ever got a monster heel push, he would do great! He’s improved dramatically.

pauluk

on the issue of the main event scene shrinking with only one major title.
I feel this is a good thing because it means those who are in the upper mid card have to work that much harder to get their opportunity just like they used to have to back in the attitude era and the years before it.
That equals good matches, too many times have lackluster stars won the world’s title, that’s how the world’s title lost its prestige, it felt like anyone could win it and not just the best.

opie

Exactly! I’ve said this before, but part of what made the Attitude Era so great was that — at any given time — there were no fewer than six guys (Rock, Austin, Triple H, Taker, Kane, and Foley, though you could include guys like Bret, HBK, Angle, Big Show, and some others) who were battling to be the top guy. It’s the competition that makes the title matter. When there were two titles, guys like ADR and Swagger could have a go as “World Champion” even though they’re not exactly top guys. It took away the whole competitive element that made old alliances both necessary and tenuous. That’s where the storylines got so interesting and great to watch. The “expanded main event scene” just meant a world title match between two mid-carders was guaranteed to open a lot of ppvs and that secondary titles were just decoration.

DW

Hehe I ranted about this in the last WNW. There are 2 other belts, use them.

pauluk

Yeah and now we have to call jack swagger a former world champion.
The world title used to mean something, you tell undertaker or edge or someone like them that the world’s title meant nothing when they gave us everything during their matches for it but somewhere down the line the main event scene got too big! Not too small. So what does it mean for a world title when it’s the first match on wrestlemania not the last? or it ends up with someone like swagger. I mean look at the ecw title. I didn’t give a rats ass about who had that and why would I when ezekiel Jackson or whatever the hell his name was had it at the end and the world’s title was heading down the same road. One title, one champion isn’t he way it should be.

Evon Callaway Bitterweed Reese

Il glad Hogans back but I’m also glad we get him in small doses.

Jay El Bee

I disagree with you when you say the main event scene has shrunk. Just last November there were only 2 main event feuds going on involving 4 guys, at the last PPV there were 3 main event feuds involving 10 guys (12 if you count Harper & Rowan). Although to be fair the only reason the Kane/Bryan feud is considered a main feud is because the WWE World title is involved.

Lebron James

Perfect opportunity to push someone else to the moon and create another star. Plenty of options, this roster is loaded with young talent. Drew Mcintyre, Cesaro, Ziggler, Zayne. Any of those guys would make an interesting World Champion.

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